The Nightmare
by Stormgate
Summary: Adrien is haunted by the demons of the past. Rated T for blood.


Adrien stood on a metal bridge, Hawkmoth in front of him, illuminated by a gigantic stained-glass window. Hawkmoth looked at Adrien mockingly, holding his cane above Ladybug

Ladybug, who was lying unconscious in front of him. Plagg hovered over his hand, ready to enter the Miraculous ring

"Come on, say it kid! " the black kwami said.

Adrien opened his mouth, ready to say the words. But nothing came.

"Go on, say the words, _Adrien_, " Hawkmoth said with his father's voice. "Prove you're not a failure. Stop me from killing Ladybug."

Adrien tried to speak, to move, to do something_, __anything_, besides just watching Hawkmoth stab her in the heart.

He couldn't, and he did

Hawkmoth sniffed. "Pathetic. I expected more of you than this." With that, he dissolved into a cloud of white butterflies, and was gone.

The spell was broken, and Adrien ran towards Ladybug. As he watched the growing pool of blood, her costume faded away in slow, pink shimmers, revealing Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

He sobbed

"Adrien," a voice said, "Wake up."

He didn't pay attention, just watching Marinette's body.

"Adrien! " the voice said, "_wake __up_!"

With a start, he opened his eyes, crystal blue ones staring back at him, faintly visible in the light from the night. He was vaguely aware that his brow and shirt were wet with sweat.

"You were having another nightmare. I woke you up."

Adrien forced himself to breath, sitting up as his racing heart slowed down.

"Was it the same as before? " Marinette asked gently.

He nodded mutely, not trusting himself to speak.

"Want to talk about it anyway? " she asked.

He didn't, but he needed to.

"Hawkmoth killed you. My-my father killed you. I couldn't transform, I couldn't save you, I just..." he trailed off.

"Adrien, " Marinette said, "I'm here. I'm alive. I'm okay. We defeated Hawkmoth. _We're married. _Remember that."

He did, repeating the mantra in his head, staring at the opposite wall, where two kwamis slept on their dresser.

"I'm broken, aren't I. " Adrien said.

"Why do you say that? " MMarinette asked.

"Normal people don't have nightmares five nights a week. Normal people don't have to fight to keep themselves together when they see a butterfly. Normal people don't have a panic attack when they come within a hundred feet of their childhood home. "

"Oh, Adrien, " Marinette whispered, holding him while running her fingers through his hair.

He sighed, and decided to voice his biggest fear.

"You deserve someone better. Someone who won't keep you up almost every night. Someone who isn't broken. "

With that, her grip hardened. Roughly, but lovingly, she grabbed his face and turned it towards her.

"Adrien Agreste, " she said, her tone dangerous, "Don't you dare believe that for a moment. Don't you dare believe that I would trade the kindest, bravest, most loving man I've ever met for a good night's sleep. Don't forget that I have my demons too. That day haunts me too, even if the nightmares stopped before our wedding."

She released his face, pulling him closer. "I understand, better than almost anyone else, the demons you face. And you know mine. You help me through my weak moments, I help you through yours. That's how marriage _works_, and more importantly, that's the _promise _I made to you six years ago. Never forget that. And never say that you don't deserve me again."

Adrien blinked back tears, reaching his arms around his wife in return.

They stayed that way for several minutes, until Adrien remembered that they needed to sleep.

As they lay in bed, he heard her whisper, "I love you, Chaton."

He smiled, "Love you too, Bugaboo."

* * *

**Thank you for reading this. I don't know where this came from, I just wanted to write an aged-up PTSD one-shot.****On that note, I have very little experience with PTSD. If you see any problems, major or minor, with my portrayal of PTSD, I would appreciate it if you addressed it in a review or some other way of contacting me. This includes the mantra that Marinette used to calm him down. I'm not very confident about this, but I gave it my best shot and would like to be able to write PTSD in a way that people could relate to.****Thanks for reading, and I really appreciate reviews. I read them often. **


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